The Best Tracking Devices for Kids

How to Choose the Right Tracking Devices for Kids

OB Roundup

Information technology's 2022. Practice Y'all Know Where Your Children Are?

Niggling kids need guardians. When nosotros lived in villages, well-nigh extended families and long-term neighbors, the community could help go on an eye on them. Fifty-fifty growing upwardly in New York City in the 1970s, I recall a network of neighbors and friends on my cake looking out for me.

But that seems to be less and less the instance now, in 2022, and so we take technology. Kid trackers human activity as a friendly ghost over a small child'south shoulder, alerting their parents to when they've gone missing. They can as well exist communications training wheels, letting kids chat with their parents if the school bus doesn't testify up or if they go left behind.

I've been reviewing these devices since 2005, when I took a look at the piddling LG Migo for Verizon. Every bit a begetter, I've tested them with my kid, who has just recently gotten likewise old for these gadgets. Things accept changed quite a bit since the Migo, and your options today are better—and more numerous—than ever.

BzT T Shirt 6

Above: B'zT tracker T-Shirt

Who Needs a Kid Tracker?

Trackers are for children too young to have their own phones. They're for toddlers who might wander abroad on the playground, or for simple school kids who regularly become outside to play, or who have complicated pick-upwardly or child-care arrangements. They give kids some advice ability without exposing them to strangers texting them or to the mobile internet.

Adults might as well be interested in trackers every bit safety devices—telling your loved ones where y'all are when you lot're out on a run, for example. Caretakers of disabled or elderly people can use trackers to ease their minds well-nigh their charges wandering off.

We're focusing here on Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and cellular/GPS trackers for families—non satellite trackers for hikers and campers. Those devices, like the Spot Personal Tracker, are for when you go off the grid and want to make sure you can summon help.

A tracker isn't a panacea. Kids and elderly adults tin still become injured if you lot know where they are, and of course, trackers tin be removed or disabled. They're just an extra layer of peace of mind, in a world where social media constantly drums up worry and hysteria.

Jiobit 4

Above: Jiobit

Type of Child Trackers

The devices we're looking at mostly fall into two categories, pure trackers and restricted-dialing phones. They all require a parent with a smartphone to manage them.

Pure trackers, such as the Jiobit and the B'zT, simply tell you where your child is. If they're Bluetooth-just, like the B'zT, they just tell you if they've walked farther than a certain distance from you. If they have GPS and cellular radios, like the Jiobit, they'll be able to tell you where they are.

Restricted-dialing phones add voice calling, letting kids speak with a pre-selected, white-listed group of relatives or friends. They might also take express texting, either to those aforementioned numbers or through a parent'south app. If a kid is verbal, I really recommend these devices because of the inaccuracy of GPS tracking. When I've lost my daughter on the playground while she wore a tracker, the map would just tell me that she was on the playground—I had to call her then she could tell me she was behind a tree.

I'm besides including the Democracy Wireless Relay in this roundup, although it isn't primarily a tracker. The Relay is a cellular-powered walkie-talkie that tin can only talk to other Relays, or to an associated smartphone app. It's great for kids playing outdoors.

All of these devices come in different shapes and sizes: clips, wearables, and phones. Whatever tracker that involves GPS and/or cellular connectivity will have a monthly fee, often $five to $10 per calendar month. AngelSense, which is designed for families of children with disabilities, costs much more than, but comes with a lot of customer service.

Angelsense 11

Above: AngelSense

When It'due south Fourth dimension for a Phone

Most American kids now go phones between the ages of 10 to 12. I have a 12-year-old, and the transition seems to be about when mobile apps become necessary for kids' social lives. My girl negotiates meetups with her friends through texting and Google Hangouts, and I'1000 happy to start to hand over the reins of her social life to her (while keeping a shut heart on things).

Phones can also be used as trackers. AT&T's Family unit Map, Sprint's Rubber & Found, T-Mobile's Family unit Mode, and Verizon'south Family Locator service all let parents sign up to locate their kids' phones, wherever they may exist. Both Android phones and iPhones have a "detect my phone" option that tin tell a parent where the device is at whatever given time. The third-party Life360 is my favorite installable app for keeping families in touch; it also includes family unit messaging, and it's cheaper than the subscription options from the carriers.

Many parents want to get their kids voice-only phones (also known every bit flip phones, although some don't actually flip) equally their kickoff unrestricted phones. At that place simply aren't very many of them left: The only two we actually recommend are the Kyocera Cadence LTE for Verizon and the Nokia 3310 3G for AT&T. We exercise non recommend any cheap voice phones on the Dart or T-Mobile networks right now—the practiced Sprint ones are too expensive, and none of the T-Mobile ones work well. Yes, it'due south frustrating! I wrote a cavalcade near it.

And so kids, in general, will probably quickly pace upward to smartphones. Our roundup, The All-time Phones for Kids, makes some suggestions about 'tween and young-teen appropriate vocalism phones and smartphones. As a parent, you'll probably also want to install parental command software—first with our roundup of The Best Parental Control Apps For Your Phone.